John Paul Vann

John Paul Vann (2 July 1924-9 June 1972) was a US Army Lieutenant-Colonel during the Vietnam War. He was instrumental in reviewing the US' strategy with assisting the South Vietnamese government in the years leading up to US direct involvement, especially with regard to winning the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people.

Biography
John Paul Vann was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1924, and he was commissioned as a US Air Force lieutenant in 1945, although he did not see any action in World War II. However, he transferred to the US Army infantry when the Air Force separated from the Army, and he commanded a US Army Rangers battalion during the Korean War, serving behind enemy lines for three months before he was transferred back home due to one of his children falling ill. In 1962, he was voluntarily assigned to South Vietnam as an adviser to ARVN general Huynh Van Cao, and he became concerned with the US-ARVN tactics during the war, especially surrounding the Battle of Ap Bac; he placed much of the blame on MACV general Paul D. Harkins. He became an enemy of the pro-conventional war military establishment but a hero to those in the military who understood that the Vietnam War could not be fought conventionally. On 9 June 1972, three days after the Battle of Kontum, he was killed in a helicopter crash at the age of 47. After his death, President Richard Nixon awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Medal of Honor.